Air Force Drops 3-1 Match To No. 16 Colorado State

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force volleyball team collected a rare 'set' victory over its nationally-ranked counterparts from Colorado State this afternoon (Oct. 5), during a four-set loss to the 16th-ranked Rams at the Academy. The Falcons posted a 28-26 victory in the opening game, but fell 8-25, 13-25, 21-25 in the remaining sets.

The Falcons' 28-26 victory marked just the fourth time that Air Force has ever taken a set from its in-state counterparts at the Division I level (1999, 2003, 2015).

Combining for nearly half of the team's kill production, senior Denise Ssozi and sophomore Bailey Keith paced the Falcons with nine scores each. Keith also collected a team-high four blocks (all assisted) on the day, while Ssozi (10) was one of two Falcons to account for a double-digit dig total (13, junior Alex King). Junior Andi Ahlers assisted on 32 of the team's 37 kills, while collecting a team-high three service aces.

Air Force found itself in an early 1-4 deficit to start the match, but quickly responded to tie the set at seven following a pair of kills from freshman BrookeLyn Messenger and individual strikes from Ssozi, junior Cambria Galloway and freshman Taleah Cooper. Another strike from Galloway evened the set at eight, while Air Force took its first lead of the match (9-8) off of a kill from Keith that forced CSU into a timeout. The teams traded the next several points, with Keith (kills at 11-10, 12-11), junior Jordan Daniels (ace at 13-11) and Messenger (kills at 15-14, 16-14), putting down scores to keep Air Force in the lead. The Falcons pushed their lead to three (18-15) following a Keith kill and an Ahlers ace, but the Rams came back to tie the set at 18. Capitalizing off of a pair of CSU errors, as well as a kill from Keith and an ace from Messenger, Air Force scored the next four points to take the 22-18 lead. Again, Colorado State responded – tying the set at 22 and taking the lead on the next point. Keith put down set-tying scores at 23- and 24-all, while a strike from Ssozi found the floor at the 25-24 mark. Another two-point swing saw CSU reach set-point (26-25), but two CSU errors and a Cooper/Ahlers block gave Air Force the 28-26 victory.

Colorado State opened the second set by scoring 10 of the first 11 points for the fast 10-1 advantage. Ssozi, Cooper and Galloway tallied kills, but the Rams pushed their lead to 21-5, before sophomore Vittoria Juarez put down a kill to stop another long CSU run. The Falcons gathered points off of a pair of errors by the Rams, but CSU evened the match with the 25-8 win.

The third opened with back-and-forth action, with Air Force earning its early scores off of kills from Keith (2-1), Ssozi (3-3), Cooper (4-4, 5-6) and Messenger (6-7). A block by Galloway and Keith evened the set at seven, but the Rams scored the next six points to take the 13-7 advantage. Messenger stopped the run with another strike (8-13), while Galloway put down a kill and teamed up with Keith for another block to bring the Falcons within two (12-14). However, the Rams rattled off to 10 straight points – and 11 of the next 12 – for the 25-13 victory.

Kills from Ssozi and Galloway, as well as a Cooper/Keith block, gave Air Force the early 5-4 advantage to open the fourth, but the Rams responded with a run to take the 9-5 lead. Ssozi and Messenger added scores, but Colorado State used another five-point run to push its advantage to nine (17-8). Ahlers posted two of her three service aces on back-to-back plays, while a block from Keith and junior Mackenzie Robertson pulled Air Force within four (13-17) during a 5-0 run by the Falcons. The Rams took the 22-15 advantage, but the Falcons scored six of the next seven points to cut their deficit to three (21-24) before Colorado State registered the match-winning point (25-21). Juarez notched a solo block during the Falcon's late run, while Ssozi tallied two kills and Cooper registered a kill and block (with Ahlers).

After playing nine of its last 10 matches at the Academy, Air Force heads out on the road for a pair of contests next week. The Falcons will travel to Nevada for a Thursday (Oct. 10) night matchup with the Wolfpack, before facing the Spartans at San Jose State on Saturday (Oct. 12) afternoon.

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